What is carbon sequestration? [from Ray Seidler]
Soil carbon sequestration can occur in healthy soil when photosynthesis captures carbon dioxide from the air and converts this carbon into plant matter. The plants eventually die and decay and, along with soil organism growth/death cycles, results in the net accumulation of large refractory complex organic molecules. These complex organic molecules eventually form humus material (known as soil organic matter) that is stable for decades and even a hundred plus/minus years.
A simpler version from the net: Soil carbon sequestration is a process in which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere and stored in the soil carbon pool. This process is primarily mediated by plants through photosynthesis, with carbon stored in the form of soil organic matter.
This atmospheric carbon sequestration becomes optimized when regenerative organic agriculture is practiced because the soil by definition is biologically healthy and active with life.
Regenerative organic agriculture refers to working with nature to utilize photosynthesis and healthy soil microbiology to draw down greenhouse gases. … “Regenerative organic agriculture can sequester carbon and reverse climate change.
Healthy soil is defined as free of pesticides and added petroleum-based minerals; it is high in organic matter, is usually soil covered with rotational crops and cover crops year around; the soil is alive and contains tons of life forms including bacteria and fungi that can exceed 10 tons per acre.
